Challenges We Face
by White Maid
Summary: A group of friends fight, steal, lie and cheat to complete their quests. What happens if a too strong of an enemy stands in their way to victory?
1. Chapter 1 - Hello and Farewell

Zeke was tapping his foot impatiently while waiting for his blade to be done. The young elf was leaning against a wooden arch doorway that looked beaten and worn out, compared to the many bandage-covered holes. His three other partners were looking around the village, taking in one last glance before the blade was done. Loud hammering, metal on metal, had been ringing for the past two days. It should've been done by now, but the blacksmith had been missing a specific iron which took two hours to find.

No one even flinched as Roy's horse whinnied impatiently, the creatures legs aching from standing at the post for so long. Roy petted the dappled grays neck saying over and over, "Don't worry we'll be leaving soon." The elegant mare shook her mane from side to side as if to reply to her rider.

Zeke glanced at Roy. Roy was a dwarf but had grand healing skills. He was a Cleric and he was almost always healing the group which took a lot out of him. Healing potions and magic potions dangled from his belt and made his pockets bulge. His auburn hair was barely past his ears while he had a small showing of a beard. Roy wasn't brawny as some might think of dwarfs. He was pretty thin for his kind.

Over to the left of the blacksmiths storage room, the half-elf, Claire was shooting over at some small blue jays. She had fair dark brown eyes with silver hair which crawled voer her shoulders until the tips reached her shoulderblades. Apparently she was stocking up for food. Her arrows flew through the limbs of three trees, catching more than bird on the arrow. Two of the birds were dazed when the arrow whizzed past them while another one was cut cleanly through the chest. As expected from a ranger, Zeke thought.

For two seconds his foot had stopped tapping but too soon did it begin its original motion.

"It's been nearly three days. How long does it take to make a simple sword?" Zeke's partner whined. He was the only human and he was also the youngest of the group. A piece of straw was being kept inside his mouth by two teeth.

Zeke sighed. "It's not a simple sword. It's a long sword with-"

"Yeah, yeah I know. With power greater than the maker." Tharn pulled his red bandanna over his hazel-colored eyes and got comfortable on a hay bail. Tharn was very stubborn, not to mention impatient. Claire and Roy at least had patience and had some common since when it came to weapons. He always got on Zeke's nerves with how he acted. Actually, Zeke had to be the most hot-headed out of the group.

After what felt like a week and before Zeke could slap Tharn, the blacksmith carried a sheathed sword in one of his thick, black gloves. Sweat on his skin glistened in the bright sun as he stepped out of the shadowed shack. In both hands, he held out the sword to Zeke who looked unmistakably pleased with the blacksmith.

Zeke's hand, which was about to slap Tharn, reached out for the newely refined sword. Immediately, the sword was in his hand, then sheathed into the holster on his right hip.

"Thank you," were Zeke's only words before handing the blacksmith five gold coins. Before anything else could happen, everyone hopped onto their horses backs. A single tug was the only thing to get the reins loose from the wooden posts.

The group headed out the village without another word.

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**How is it so far? This is actually my first D&D story, so I hope you like it. If you want to suggest anything, feel free! ^^**


	2. Chapter 2 - Run!

"Tharn, watch where you walk for the tenth time," an aggravated Claire hissed. "Awh, c'mon~. Lighten up. I just miss my footing every once in a while." The thief turned merrily on his heel and gave a shrug, being at the front of the group. Much to the others amusement, he tripped over a gnarled root of an oak tree, the thump onto the earth's surface loud enough to startle a few birds. His horse had skillfully removed his reins from the boy's hands and just trotted off with his tail high.

Zeke snorted before he stepped momentarily on the boy's chest, metal digging into his sun-kissed skin. "OW!"

"Lighten up, boy. I just miss my footing every now and then," he responded, mimicking Tharn's previous words.

With an irritated glare, the boy moved to his knees, adjusting the red bandanna around his head before he stood with a sigh. "Irritating."

The dwarven male called this from a few paces ahead, having heard him. "Get yer scrawny ass up and move it. Otherwise yer horse will be enjoyin' a swim in the river." Zeke snorted as the healer's words were true. The Paint was merrily prancing around in the nearby river, mane and tail of chocolate color twisting and snapping around playfully.

The thief groaned and shook his head, finally getting to his feet as he dusted himself off. The fingerless gloves were already dirty by this point. "Get over here, Raphael!" Even though the boy was a complete nut and a total moron in some situations, he knew how to pick out names.

Previously, when Tharn had first obtained the Paint, he had attempted to name him Beans for the comedy of it. The horse didn't take the name lightly, having walloped the boy into a pile of horse dung. Fresh from the stables, no less.

It took the boy about an hour to grab his jumpy horse back, leaving him dirt and mud covered much to the rest of the group's amusement. "Hey..." he began before he gave them a thumbs up, "I got 'em." Zeke couldn't help but smile as he looked at the boy who dangled from his horse's reins. It was just like him to do such stupid stunts but he made it.

_Stake the worthless, drown the rich...let the darkness commence... _Zeke stiffened immediately as the cold chill of a voice licked his thoughts, leaving him to wince. Goosebumps covered his skin even though he was sweating profusely underneath the silver armor. Spinning his horse around, Zeke looked around, suddenly certain that someone was watching them.

The most horrible, sharp-toothed grin stood across from the trees where they were at, the owner wearing a thick cloak of black, darkness enshrouding its feet to where it would make many wander if it was floating or if it was some sort of magic.

"A-Ah!" Giving a frightened yell, he fell off the horse in sheer panic as the grin widened into a monstrous length as if ready to fall off the stranger's dark face. Having been startled when Zeke had turned around so suddenly, the rest of the horses whinnied wildly and reared, forcing their riders to cling tightly to the mane's and reins.

_Stake the worthless, drown the rich..._ The voice was louder in Zeke's head, making him flinch, beads of sweat running down his temple. It seemed that he was the only one who could hear it but not the only one who could see the figure. Roy tugged hard on his horse's reins, who was snapping its head everywhere in fear. "What in blazes is that thing?" Claire answered, steadying an arrow fearlessly as she aimed for the creature's throat, "Another thing to kill."

Tharn had bravely dismounted off his horse to drag Zeke back up to his feet but the male was so weak-kneed from fear, it was close to impossible. The boy looked down at the pale-faced warrior, pinching his lips together in pure worry. He had never seen Zeke like this even though they had only been a group for a couple of months. "C-C'mon Zeke, get up! We need to fight!" The others answer wasn't immediate as he watched Claire's arrow whistle through the air and stab the creature in the throat.

Or so they thought. "_Stake the worthless, drown the rich..._" The voice was back again but out loud, a whisper that wasn't even carried on winds but it choked all four. It was drenched in darkness as a plant would be in its own poison that seeped through its stems and leaves.

The horses breathed hard from fear, legs ready to bolt in a time of need. Their heartbeats raced with their riders, limbs stiff and eyes wide. With greying fingers that was barely seen from the cloak and clouded darkness, it seemed to make hand movements, about as slow as dripping molasses but it strangely entranced them all. It was almost familiar...

Claire blinked and shook her head, pale blond hair whipping at her sharp-edged face before she began to draw another arrow from the deer skin quiver. She could not lose focus at a time like this!

"_Stake the worthless, drown the rich..." _And the sudden whir of movement made her stop as air left her lungs from the impact in her chest. It was heavy. Slowly looking down at herself, the others followed her gaze to see her own arrow protruding from the leather armor she wore. Blood seeped through the dark brown armor, staining it in the ever darker scarlet. The pain finally crushed the rest of the air out of her lungs.

"Claire!" Tharn jumped to his feet just as she fell off the saddle. The palomino horse whinnied in surprise as its rider fell over, the female having gone as pale as crestfallen snow.

"_Stake the worthless, drown the rich..." _The men looked up from their fallen comrade's body to see the figure looming over them all, slender and tall and made of the darkness itself. Zeke moved first from fear, snapping his body into action as he mounted his horse.

"Go, go, go, GO!" With Roy barely clinging to his own horse's neck as it moved, Tharn was successfully able to pick Claire up bridal-style into his arms before he mounted onto Raphael. All four horses took off with their riders. The dark creature chased after them all immediately through the sunlight, its grin still wide.

Having soon slowly slid back onto the saddle of his own pony that was fast enough to keep up with the others long legs, Roy slowly moved a rough leather glove into the pouch at his side, feeling past the healing and mana potions. One by one, he carefully took them out and examined one at a time and finally, much to his relief, he pulled out a vial that was as slender as a test tube but it held white liquid. It moved like water but it smelled of sweet powder.

Popping the cork off carefully with his teeth, he kept his brown eyes on the ghoul-like creature that swiped at Tharn's back. The boy was barely able to arch his back away in time. Zeke was pale-faced, not daring to look at the ghoul at all. Roy couldn't blame him as he spat out the cork and threw the bottle at the ghoul.

Having smelled the formula, it gave a shriek, its mouth opening wide and showing off the three sets of sharp teeth before it attempted to stop and go the opposite direction. With the speed it was at, escape wasn't the right option. Roy's aim was true as the bottle smashed in the ghoul's face, the glass shattering and tearing at its face but what surprised the male's was the fact that its figure began to melt. Deciding not to stop and watch the scene, the horses continued to bolt, none of the men speaking until they were well away from the melted ghoul.


	3. Chapter 3 - Helpless

~Zeke~

Not even an hour had passed and he was already pacing about by the recently made campfire, the horses grazing by the river leisurely. Claire was still unconscious from the sudden, near-accurate hit to her heart by her own arrow, no thanks to the recent thing that had been chasing them. If it hadn't been for Roy, she would've been a goner.

Sighing, he looked to the river side to see the two. _She's still motionless_, he thought to himself glumly. But her torso was bandaged, the leather armor peeled away to reveal the white and faint green elven tunic. It matched her pale skin and near white hair.

Zeke sighed before he sat, armor clinking together as he searched in his bag for his usual journal.

"Writing again, eh?" a gruff voice asked from behind.

"Yes, Roy," he said.

Hearing the heavy footsteps, he soon saw the tired man plop beside him, his beer belly nearly spilling from the thick leather shirt vest which sat over enchanted chainmail. He sighed heavily. "Y'know…ya really gotta take a break from that thing every once in a while. You'll getta kink in yer wrist if ya keep it up."

The warrior simply rolled his eyes and opened the leather-bound journal. Ink-written words were scrawled over the somewhat tattered and old pages, the reading eligible but some were scrawled particularly sloppy, as if Zeke had been writing hurriedly. Others seemed to have been written at an easy pace.

Roy was automatically looking it over, attempting to read some of it but the male turned his back to him. "Oh come now, there certainly can't be anythin' too surprisin' in that book of yers, Zeke," he said, attempting to peer over his shoulder this time. He hunched further over the book as he removed the ink quill from the books spine.

Zeke stayed in place for a good moment or so before he glanced around him. Roy looked both irritated and extremely curious enough to make the male chuckle. Roy raised an eyebrow, keeping that look on his bearded face. "What's so funny?"

Zeke chuckled softly. "The face you're giving me is rather priceless," he responded, his writing hand now covering his smiling mouth.

Roy blinked. "Huh. …Wait, since when could ya write? We don't even have any ink."

Zeke grinned. "Yeah, I don't," he began, soon whistling softly for his own horse. It came over to him at a canter, the saddle still on its back in case of an emergency get-away. Reaching his armored hand into a pouch, he fumbled around in it for only a few seconds before he pulled out what he wanted. Sitting in his hand was a bottle of carefully incased black liquid. Ink. "But Reo does." He gave a friendly wink which caused Roy to lightly laugh.

"Ya always seem to find some way to make things more amusin' than they really are." Zeke smiled and would've given a response but someone from in the treetops stopped him.

"Yeah, things are perfectly fine and dandy out here. But you forget that Claire's still wounded."

Zeke sighed before the healer spoke up. "She'll be fine. The only thing that arrow punctured was some skin and muscle. Nothin' vital, kid." Zeke glanced over to Claire's sleeping form as Roy continued to speak. "For now, she just needs to rest. She'll wake up on 'er own." He nodded once to reassure the young thief but he just scoffed in reply and kept his red bandanna over his eyes.

Zeke frowned and spoke up now. "Get a grip, Tharn. Just be glad she isn't dead." A grunt this time. Zeke rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. _That boy…_ he thought irritably to himself.

He opened his eyes soon after just to see Roy chucking a palm-sized rock at Tharn. After a split second of silence, there was a hollow _thonk_ before the boy yelped and fell into the bushes below, which were luckily not covered in thorns. "Getta grip ya cotton-brained, haybale sleeper." And Tharn jumped to his feet, spitting out leaves.

"Oh yeah, tell that to my face! Oh, wait, you can't because you're so short, flea-picker!"

"WHAT!? You little twerp, I'll shred ya over the campfire like string cheese!" And thus began the usual chase of anger and what Zeke called comedy relief.

Chuckling to himself, he soon moved away from the two and over to the female, who had yet to wake. Kneeling beside her, he soon looked over the tunic that was only splotched with her blood. Giving a low sigh, he soon sat down on the damp grass and once again began writing, but spoke aloud lightly to Clare, even though she couldn't hear.

"Things are as hectic as always. Tharn is being hot-headed about the situation. He's worried about you Claire, and doesn't see the picture that you'll be alright. Roy has worked perhaps an hour to make sure nothing fatal was punctured. I could call it luck for the time being."

He chatted aloud yet softly to himself and the unconscious woman beside him, remembering all that happened that day more thoroughly when he spoke to himself. After ten mores minutes or so, his hand beginning to cramp, he soon stopped talking and closed the journal sighing softly. It was no surprise his mouth was dry but he felt content with a lot of things off his chest and into his book.

Looking back to the more quiet campsite, he soon gave a small grin as he noticed the other two asleep by the fire, faces calm and bodies exhausted.

_Good, _Zeke thought to himself. _They need it from all that bickering and adrenaline from before_. Standing up and putting the journal in his mouth, as he had no pockets, he carefully picked the elven archer up into his arms.

Her skin was cold, as Roy had been too busy with Tharn to carry her over by the fire. Zeke did that work with ease. Setting her down on a recently pulled out blanket, which was a comfortable distance away from the fire, he soon made sure the other two were rested onto their own blankets. No one needed sore muscles at this point.

Having yet to become tired, he stripped himself of the white armor. A lot of weight left his muscled body as he stretched his arms over his head, a bandaged hand running through his dirty brown hair. Most of his body heat was gone now, leaving more skin exposed to the cold than what he liked, but he didn't mind.

Deciding no one was around, Zeke removed the chainmail and cotton shirt of grey, leaving them at the side of the water's edge once he had neared the whispering river. His pants and undergarments soon followed suit before he dived in. It was absolutely freezing.

Zeke came up out of the river's water with his teeth chattering goosebumps covering his bare skin. "Damn, I didn't expect for it to be _this_ cold." Holding his breath, he dunked back down, massaging his scalp with his fingers to remove more dirt.

The grim and dirt disappeared, becoming swallowed by the clean water of the stretching river. Naturally, his body shivered because of the cold temperature but after swimming around, he was able to get his blood flowing fast enough to keep him gradually warm until he returned to the bank. Sure, he didn't have any soap to get him clean but the water was enough.

After a while, he softly whistled as he climbed out, calling Reo over who had his blanket for these seldom occasions. The horse was obedient and received a soft pat on its muzzle before the male dried himself off. "…I wonder what village we'll reach next," he murmured, mostly to no one. Reo tilted his large head to one side, ears twitching as he listening.

Pulling his pants on, Zeke shrugged. "Well, our last quest was a total pain in the ass. What did you expect for me to say?" And his response was a pair of soft giggles.

Zeke raised his head up immediately as well as Reo. "…?" Looking over at the nearby front line of trees, he could just barely see movement in the dark green leaves. He had a small frown crease on his forehead. Just how long had they been watching him?

His cheekbones flushed automatically before he cleared his throat. "Who's there?" He had yet to put his cotton, button-up shirt and chainmail but for now, he didn't really seem to mind that his torso was showing. His lower half was what he worried about.

Another quiet wave of giggles was their response and he finally couldn't help but frown deeper. Swiping up his sword from the ground, he handled it with natural skill and pointed it at the onlookers. "Show yourself!" Reo gave a soft snort beside him, his head lowered as if ready to charge, but his ears were pricked forward.

They had fallen quiet amongst the leaves but it wasn't long before there was slight movement in the leaves and something tiny had emerged, something that he was surprised he was able to even hear.

Standing shyly about as tall as his middle finger and hovering slightly over a tree branch was a fairy that was dressed in a neatly made scrap of dyed sheep wool and leaves. Thanks to the shine of her wings, which glittered as bright as the stars above him, he didn't need to squint into the darkness to see her.

"…A fairy or a pixie?" he asked to himself, now scratching the back of his head. Zeke received his answer as she was suddenly up in his face and yelling…well, more like squeaking. The warrior leaned his head back, otherwise he was going to go cross-eyed.

Now he could fully see her appearance. Her strawberry hair was in a small side ponytail, her face illuminated in gold and orange sherbert. She had tiny, tiny freckles which matched the color of her eyes and showed up well on her sun-kissed skin.

"…" Blinking a few times as he heard her squeak, or speak, he soon quirked an eyebrow. "Fairy?"

She folded her arms and nodded once, enough to make her bangs almost flip up. Zeke chuckled lightly before he leaned back, soon lightly scooping her up into his palm. The soft squeak she made was rather adorable to him as he nodded once in understanding and greeting. "I would say it's nice to meet you but after finding you spying on me, well, I would say otherwise." She looked playfully offended before she pointed to herself and shook her head then made gestures. For some reason, he could understand what she was saying, no matter how quick she made her gestures. There were more of them.

Looking back over to where the female originally was, Zeke blinked multiple times and let his eyes widen. There were about four more, their wings fluttering softly and their colors exotic and vibrant.

"…Amazing. I never thought…" He trailed off as the one in his hand gave a small giggle, soon swaying back and forth in his palm. One by one they flew up to him, eyes wide with curiosity.

One male, out of the other two that were there, folded his arms, being rather muscular for something so tiny. His chin was high and his eyes a striking gold, shimmering as much as his wings.

Zeke quirked an eyebrow at them before he gave a slow nod in greeting to all of them. They squeaked and nodded their greetings as well before the one from before was nestled in his dark hair and another flying in front of Reo's face. The horse softly snorted before he gently moved his muzzle to let the fairy snuggle against him. She gave a squeak and giggled, her laughter like chiming bells.

The first male from before soon started to make heated gestures, his face stern but most relaxed as he directed them at Zeke. Somehow, he could understand him. "…Why do you have to go?" In response, he made a gesture that the warrior took as 'trouble'. He raised an eyebrow even further before the one in his palm flailed her arms to get his attention.

Once he looked down she immediately moved her arms about to say, "We have something after us."

"Like what?" He asked this right after, frowning lightly at this point and even more so as she gestured, "Can you help us?"

There was no doubt in his mind that he wouldn't help these small creatures. Zeke nodded several times. "Of course. Can you show me?" And all five of them were tugging at his sleeves and hair, forcing him away from his armor but he luckily had his sword in one hand.

He kept up with them at a run soon enough, their wings fluttering fast and allowing them to zip through leaves and cobwebs faster than a hummingbird. Zeke chewed his lower lip as he kept up with them as best as possible, wondering what sort of creature was after them as he bit into the hilt of his sword and put his shirt on.

Maybe it was a horde of spiders? He wrinkled his nose before he shrugged to himself. _I guess I'll find out soon enou- _

His own thoughts were interrupted as he was suddenly pounced on from behind and above, his front crashing into the leaf-covered ground and grass. "What the-!?" Black hands forced his arms behind his back while two sets kept his legs down. Another tore his weapon from him as they grabbed at his brown hair and pulled it back with force, forcing his chin high to meet another face who happened to stand over him.

"Well, well, look what we have here; a wanderer who decided to help tiny little pixies. How quaint." They mused their words to themselves, as if having their own inside joke.

His emerald eyes darted around to try and find the fairies nearby and they were luckily hiding it seemed but his heart dropped into his stomach as he saw one currently glittering and squeaking madly in the hands of a black-suited male, which acted like a cage."Tch, let them go," Zeke hissed and cried out when the heel of a shoe collided painfully with his jawline.

The one within its captors hands watched, eyes wide and strawberry hair wildly out of place. "Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic you are," the standing one murmured, their voice as harsh as shattered glass. "I always thought warriors were of the more noble and hard-skinned type, not ones who cried like a little bawling baby."

That nearly sent Zeke over the edge out of anger as he wrenched his arms free and grabbed at the other. He didn't even get his arms free for three seconds as they pinned him down again but this time, he struggled fiercely. They were _not_ keeping him here, especially when his friends were just over there as they had barely gotten about half a mile away from the clearing Roy had spotted.

"Tharn! Roy!" The male _had_ to get the attention of his companions; otherwise his fate would not end up well. "God forbid it, R-" A hand was over his mouth at this point, muffling any form of sound that decided to escape him. Emerald orbs met strange lilac iris's that glittered with this sadistic passion.

"Uh-uh-uh~. Keep quiet and maybe I'll let your friends go." The shadowed male seemed to gaze up at the clearing where Roy, Tharn and Claire were. Zeke just about threw a fit again but only laid still, breathing hard out of anger and his own struggling, his jaw throbbing with heated pain.

A smirk was directed down at him soon enough before he was hauled to his bare feet, daggers to his back. "Let's not waste any more time, shall we?" Giving a growl in his throat, Zeke knew that he could do nothing but hope that his friends would find him and that the little ones would escape together. Closing his eyes in defeat, he was forced to follow behind his captors. The only thing he could do now was not die.


End file.
